


Let The Sky Fall

by nonosungie



Series: Didn't Want to be a Demigod [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Angst, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, I mean they're teenagers, M/M, More tags to be added, NCT Dream Ensemble-centric, OT21 (NCT), Swearing, lots of swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:53:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22563553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonosungie/pseuds/nonosungie
Summary: In hindsight, Jeno supposed that there had been better options than jumping out the 15th-story window.Though when a rhinoceros walking on two legs was headed straight at you, he mused, any normal human being would dive out the nearest exit, and his just happened to be 30 meters off the ground.
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta, Huang Ren Jun/Liu Yang Yang, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Kim Jungwoo/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Series: Didn't Want to be a Demigod [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1623490
Comments: 12
Kudos: 54





	1. A whole bunch of bad decisions

In hindsight, Jeno supposed that there had been better options than jumping out a 15th-story window.

He didn’t jump out because he was bored or anything - sure, he had trouble with reading, but Jeno liked to think his common sense was above average. Though he did have his moments, his life was pretty ok, thank you very much, and he wasn’t about to cut it short again. When a rhinoceros walking on two legs was headed straight at you, he justified, any normal human being would dive out the nearest exit, and his just happened to be 30 meters off the ground.

He could hear Renjun screaming after him from the window he’d just exited. As the wind rushed past his face Jeno closed his eyes, tried not to scream too loudly, threw out a quick prayer to whoever was out there and braced himself for the impact. It never came When he gathered enough courage to squeeze one eye open, he realized that he was face to face with the asphalt, floating an inch off the ground. 

Jeno gulped and tried to gather his thoughts. He was flying somehow, albeit only by a hair - maybe he was dreaming? “A little higher...” he muttered out loud. He promptly shot 15 meters up into the air, crashing into an awning then back down to the pavement. Jeno let out a pained groan and rolled himself onto his back. Definitely not a dream.

***

His first mistake had been to listen to Renjun.

His best friend had been nagging at him for a week to make sure he would show up for the field trip to the 63 building, and Jeno couldn’t say no in fear of the death glare that he would be subject to. He’d only known the other for a month but his first memory of the boy was him punching a guy for bad-mouthing their TA.

Afterwards everyone had seen the small, fierce boy hop up courageously, spit out a few choice curse words, flip off the guy clutching his broken nose and stomp away. Only Jeno had seen him afterwards crumpled behind a wall, cradling his hand and howling silently. Jeno figured Renjun deserved kudos for lasting that long before succumbing to the pain of bruised knuckles (plus he reminded Jeno of his kitten that didn’t realize running up against a door was bound to hurt), so Jeno found himself offering the boy a bag of ice.

“You probably shouldn’t have done that.”

Renjun glared challengingly up at him. “I’d do it again,”.

Jeno smiled, eyes crinkling. “Good.” The redhead had sniffled a bit before begrudgingly moving over to make space for Jeno. No thank yous were spoken that day but Jeno was sure he wouldn’t be getting a broken nose anytime soon.

That arguably fond memory was what he found himself reminiscing about, shuffling around to keep warm in his coat at 8 AM as Sicheng counted them off. Renjun ran in panting 10 minutes late and the tall TA sent him a raised eyebrow, unimpressed, but checked him off nonetheless and hoarded them onto the bus.

“Today’s going to be great,” Renjun breathed, nose red in the chilly air and eyes glinting dangerously. Jeno had been inclined to agree.

***

Present day Jeno could only call his past self naive. Still coughing from the impact, he pushed himself to his feet only to find a stranger coming to a stop in front of him. The first thing Jeno noticed was his shock of pastel hair. The next thing he noticed was the atrocity of a red jacket (could you even call it that? It looked more like a carpet) the boy had on. His initial observations, though, faded away when he got a good look at the guy’s face. The breath was knocked out of him for the second time that day. With pink hair, delicate features and a bright smile the guy was easily the most beautiful person Jeno had ever seen.

He had about 2 seconds to stand and stare until the aforementioned rhino crashed through the wall and straight towards them. The unnamed boy wrapped a hand around Jeno’s wrist and broke into a sprint, practically dragging Jeno along behind him. Honestly, Jeno was perfectly fine with that, content with gaping in awe at the boy’s face. He’d never seen anyone with such angelic features before. 

“Aeternae!”

“Bless you,” Jeno replied automatically before snapping his mouth shut when the living Ken doll looked at him like he had grown another head. “Aeternae,” he drew out slowly, or as slowly as he could while running for his life. “Alexander the Great?”

Jeno shook his head and shrugged as best he could, and Ken heaved out a sigh. “What do normal schools even teach nowadays?” Jeno could only shake his head again, because he really didn’t know the answer to that question either. There was also the fact that Jeno couldn’t breathe because this was the fastest he’d ever run.

They took a sharp turn into an alleyway and Jeno bent down, heaving to catch his breath as the boy looked anxiously to the street. He had just regained the ability to breathe more or less normally when a guttural roar rose up from far behind him. The male model - Jeno was running out of things to call this guy, what was his actual name? - cursed under his breath and reached down to his leg. 

Belatedly, Jeno realized there was a rather obnoxious sparkling leather holster on the boy’s thigh that he’d failed to notice, distracted by his crude fashion sense and perfect physique. A pink gun emerged to match his hair, and the boy fired it into the air seemingly to warn the creature away. Jeno shrieked in the most courageous manner he could muster.

“Are you even allowed to have guns in Korea?” The boy ignored him and glanced around as he brought his hands up to bite at his nails. “Where the fuck are they?”

As if on cue, Renjun came skidding up to the curb just beside them. “Change of plans,” Jeno stared in shock as he realized Renjun wasn’t talking to him but rather the strange boy that he had just met. “Yuta wants us to meet him at Han River.”

“And Sicheng?” At this point Jeno was so confused he had to intervene. “You know our TA?”

The two boys acted as if he hadn’t spoken a word. “Making sure we get a ride from there on out.” Renjun’s words seemed to reassure the other and he brought his hands down, glancing quickly at Jeno before turning back to Renjun.

“You good to go?” Renjun nodded and latched onto the other’s wrist.

“Oh my god,” Jeno groaned out in frustration. The pink haired boy tucked his hand into Jeno’s, smiled and finally, finally introduced himself.

“Hi, Jeno. I’m Jaemin. And it’s gods. Plural.” 

As Jeno tried and failed to comprehend Jaemin’s words, he felt Renjun whirl them around and shut his eyes helplessly as the world melted to black.

***

The first thought that flicked through Mark’s head as he came to was that he wasn’t sure about a lot of things in his life, but he was sure he didn’t know the guy drooling on his shoulder.

It wasn’t necessarily horrible, per say, since the guy was cute if Mark was being honest (very cute, the type of cute that Mark wouldn’t be able to talk to on the street), but then he realized exactly how true that first thought was. Mark wasn’t sure about a lot of things in his life, including his last name, his age, and where the fuck he was.

Mark decided to focus on the things he did know, which was never a lot, but at the moment was closer than ever to nothing. He was on a bus that was rattling along with two other passengers: a cheerleader in the seat in front of him and the boy on his shoulder with a crystal ball cradled in his palms. Mark turned to the window where he saw a city, but his brows knit as he realized he’d never seen buildings this tall or cars this shiny and fly before. 

“Hi!” The cheerleader turned around with a cheery grin. Mark’s eyes widened as he shifted back. “I’m Sana.”

“Um, hey, d-dope name,” he stuttered out eloquently, “I’m Mark. Mark…”

He couldn’t remember his last name. As Sana stared in curiosity Mark tried to recollect anything from before he woke up - not much, a freezing cold sensation and a girl with long black curls - before a pain ripped through his head and he flinched violently.

The boy beside him stirred and Mark glanced his way. He had a round face, a round nose, round eyes… he was just round in general, but somehow he made it work. Mark froze as the boy’s eyes fluttered open and he was met with golden brown irises that stared into his own.

Mark jerked back so far he almost fell off the seat, one hand flying up to his aching head and the other to his racing heart. 

“Finally,” the boy’s face split into a wide grin as he brushed over the ball in his grasp with his thumb. “You’re up.”

“Shouldn’t I be saying that?” Mark blurted out, then added an afterthought, “ You know me?”. The boy’s face was one he definitely would have remembered, but then again, he supposed, he couldn’t remember anything.

“I’m Donghyuck,” the boy said, ignoring his question entirely and darting his eyes towards Sana, whose grin had stretched even wider, “and we need to get off this bus.”

Donghyuck closed one hand around his glass ball, another around Mark’s wrist and dove out the door behind them just as it slid shut. A blast of freezing air hit them like a brick wall Mark was aware instantly that he hated the cold.

A large bang echoed behind them and Mark twisted around to find that a figure was pressed against the window of the bus. He wondered if he was bugging out as he realized it was Sana, still grinning and waving, but the innocent cheerleader vibes she seemed to be going for was offset by her eyes that glowed red and fangs that glared threateningly.

“What the actual fuck,” he whispered out as he turned to find Donghyuck tugging insistently at his sleeve and glancing down at the ball. “We gotta go, bro.” Mark found himself staring as the sun glinted off the silvery locks of the other’s hair turning them golden for a split second.

The moment was broken as a loud crash resounded and he whirled around to find that Sana had literally punched through the window, her grin turning sinister. Donghyuck whistled through his teeth, tightening his grip on Mark’s wrist. “Empousai, man? Who even are you?”

I’m asking myself the same question, Mark thought in annoyance and brushed the question off with a shrug. “Let’s bounce,” He gritted out, and Donghyuck nodded, already jogging away.

***

“Shit, shit, shit. He’s going to kill me,” They were ducked behind a dumpster at the Han River as the silver haired boy paced back and forth with the crystal ball still cradled in his hand. Mark could only catch a few words muttered under the other’s breath, none of which made sense.

He was still trying to figure out if he’d ever heard of a place called Honhyul or a person named Tae before when the boy stopped in his tracks and began running towards the open. Mark sighed, sure that the Donghyuck guy was probably the most chaotic person he’d ever met. He really hated chaotic.  _ Does he not think that, oh, the vampire cheerleader thing might still be after us? _

Rubbing his arms to keep warm and power walking after him, Mark marveled at his surroundings, the building and lights he could’ve sworn he’d never seen before, before coming to a stop as the boy rummaged around in his pockets.

Donghyuck pulled out a coin triumphantly and Mark watched in fascination as he flicked the coin onto a small rainbow on the ground made by the glass ball he seemed to treasure.

“Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Johnny.” 

Donghyuck was hella chaotic and mental but maybe also a little bit magical. There was no other plausible explanation for the face of a surfer-looking man that had just appeared on the ground.

_ “Hyuck? Is that you?” _

Donghyuck’s face brightened immediately. “John-”

_ “Do you know how worried we’ve been? It’s been 2 weeks,” _ Mark glanced upwards and gulped, tapping on Donghyuck’s shoulder only to be ignored.

“Johnny, I’m at the Han River, and we need a ride.”

_ “Who’s we-” _

“Did Tae-,” Mark’s taps on Donghyuck’s shoulder became more insistent but Donghyuck shrugged him off aggressively.

“Have you heard from- What!” Donghyuck snarled and twisted around as Mark’s taps turned into rather violent slaps.

“Remember Sana on the bus?”

“The empousa?”

Mark’s response was to body-check Donghyuck (maybe he’d played football before? He still couldn’t remember) out of the way as the blonde, now fire-haired girl dove for his throat.

The crystal ball fell from Donghyuck’s grasp and cracked against a rock, effectively shattering the image of Johnny’s head. Donghyuck let out an anguished screech, but Mark was too busy trying not to get his head ripped off to care.

_ “Mark Lee,” _ Sana hissed out, still with the same maniacal grin,  _ “I was in the mood for something salty.” _

He rolled around on the ground trying to fend off manicured claws and - was that a hoof? “Is that supposed to be an insult? Eat my shorts... Dude, a little help here?” Mark yelped in pain as the girl sank her fangs into his shoulder, but Donghyuck didn’t seem to hear him, unmoving from his spot on the ground next to the cracked sphere with trembling hands.

_ “Have fun in the underworld!”  _ Sana giggled.

As her jaws inched closer to his throat, Mark reevaluated his life choices during the short period of time he could remember, starting with his decision to trust Donghyuck. He decided that he regretted every single one of them.

As Sana loomed over him and he closed his eyes preparing for the worst, a small swoosh resounded. Mark coughed, spluttering and gasping in pain - not from fangs or claws but from the weight of three people on top of him instead of the previous one. The blonde cheerleader had been slammed into the wall and was back to a normal girl, knocked out for the time being.

“Holy shit!” One of the figures that had materialized on top of him screeched out. “Is that Donghyuck?”

The two others that had newly appeared seemed too out of it to respond, a golden haired boy dry heaving while anxiously patting down his face as if to make sure his skin was still there, and a woozy redhead looking dangerously close to throwing up or passing out, possibly even both.

“Hyuck? We’ve been looking all over for you!” The only energetic boy of the group shrieked as he pushed himself off Mark, knocking the two others off in the process. Mark gasped in air, sweet air, as the redhead, looking a bit more recovered, snapped his head up in response to the name. Both boys tackled Donghyuck in a hug before noticing his lack of response and blinking down at the broken glass orb.

“Oh, Donghyuck,” the pink haired guy sighed in sympathy, but the silver haired boy remained unmoving. An obnoxiously red, beaten up van playing punk rock music screeching up to the curb at that exact moment was what finally got Donghyuck to look up.

“Get in, suckers!” The van doors slid open as a wild-eyed man with matching wild red hair hollered from the driver’s seat, while another man heaved a long-suffering sigh in shotgun. Everyone remained frozen until the driver slammed down on the horn, honking loud enough for the blonde boy curled up on the ground to stir.

The pink haired, rather pretty boy grasped Donghyuck’s arm, helping him up gently and pulling him into the van while the redhead did the same with the boy on the ground.

Mark didn’t move. “I don’t know who any of you are, much less who the hell I am,” he glared, “ so you better explain before we go anywhere.”

Six sets of eyes blinked back at him.

He stood his ground for a total of three seconds before a monsterous rhinoceros-looking creature stomped into view and Sana’s eyes snapped open, training on him as her lips curled ferally.

Mark made his first good decision of that day by jumping into the car without a second thought.

“Drive, man, drive!” The blonde boy opened his mouth for the first time since Mark had seen him to scream as the van jumped to a start and screeched away. Mark fell back in his seat and gaped in shock at the fading form of the monstrous creatures behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come chat w/ me gimme theories inspiration anything
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/nonosungie)  
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/nonosungie)


	2. A Series of Unfortunate Events

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I think I know who your dad is now.” Jaemin gestured above Jeno’s head. 
> 
> Jeno tilted his head back fully to look at the sky. “Yeah, I think I know too,” He managed to utter before his eyes rolled back in his head and he promptly passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **may have a spoiler for the trials of apollo

Mark had thought that the only way he was going to die that day was with Sana ripping out his throat. He was proven wrong as Yuta jerked the handle of the van, narrowly missing hitting a traffic light for the third time in ten minutes.

Mark was thrown violently over to Donghyuck next to him who immediately shoved him off with a sharp glare. “You broke my crystal,” he spat out as Mark’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.

“I’m sorry, did me saving your life ruin your tiny glass ball? I should’ve just left you to die?” Donghyuck sniffed in disdain but didn’t reply, and Mark rolled his eyes. “Take a chill pill, bro.”

The silver haired boy grunted out something that sounded vaguely like “who the fuck says chill pill,” and turned his back on Mark. He wondered how he’d ever found the other cute.

After initial introductions were exchanged between the boys in the back, Jeno broke the awkward silence. “Will someone please explain what’s going on? Where are we going?” The blonde still looked slightly green from whatever way he’d managed to materialize on top of Mark - with that thought, Mark nodded vigorously. He had no idea what was going on either.

Jaemin was the first to open his mouth. “We’re going to Camp Honhyul.”

Jeno frowned. “Honhyul as in mixed blood? But I’m fully Korean.” Jaemin and Renjun giggled and even Donghyuck seemed to crack a smile. Mark didn’t see what was so funny. Jaemin noticed his expression and cleared his throat with a grin.

“Mixed blood as in half human, half god. You know the Greek gods? They’re all real.” Jeno laughed nervously. “You people are insane.”

This time it was Renjun that spoke up. “Maybe,” he agreed, “But we’re not liars. See, Jaemin’s mom is Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty.” Mark glanced quickly at the gorgeous pink haired boy and decided that his parentage seemed fitting as the redhead continued.

“My dad… He’s the god of the Underworld, Hades - one of the big 3 gods, I guess, along with Zeus and Poseidon.” When no one responded, Renjun went on. “They kind of have a pact not to have kids, because they’re the strongest, and when they have kids, well, let’s just say it isn’t pretty, but for Gods promises are meant to be broken. Jeno, when I transported you and Jaemin, that was shadow travel, one of my abilities from being a demigod. It usually takes a lot less out of me but I… I’m not in great condition today.” 

Renjun pointed to the front of the van. “That’s Sicheng, my half brother. Next to him, that’s Yuta, son of Ares, the war god.” Yuta threw up a rock n’ roll sign while Sicheng tilted his head to acknowledge them, touching Yuta’s shoulder gently to remind him to keep his eyes on the road. Mark couldn’t see how the tall, delicate boy was supposed to be the son of death.

“Well, who’s my dad, then?” Jeno asked, and Jaemin smiled lightly. “I don’t know yet. You have to wait to be claimed once you get to camp. It’s a little strange, you guys should’ve been claimed by now since most demigods get claimed by 13, but there are always exceptions.”

Mark looked quickly at Donghyuck, hoping he wouldn’t have to ask, and Jaemin caught his eye. “Don’t mind Hyuck,” he said with a soft smile. “He’s a little on edge because he thought he would find someone he was looking for today.”

Mark’s voice piped up before he could stop himself. “Who?” he questioned before snapping his mouth shut. Donghyuck didn’t seem to notice nor even care, while Jaemin looked uneasy.

“His brother, the one who gave him that crystal ball. They’re the sons of Apollo, the god of the sun, art, prophecies, all that stuff. He’s been missing for a while but Hyuck got some… directions and,” Jaemin stopped to glare in Donghyuck’s general direction, “decided to skip camp looking for him without telling anyone.”

A cackle resounded from the front of the van and everyone jumped a foot in their seats. Yuta slammed on the brakes, grinning maniacally through the rearview mirror. “Donkey, Mr. J’s gonna kill you.” Donghyuck didn’t spare him a glance as he raised his hand to flip him off.

Renjun rolled his eyes. “Anyway, yeah. Mark, sorry, but Hyuck really just misses his brother, Taeil.”

***

They’d been driving for quite some time with only a few more almost-accidents when Jeno heard a thundering in the distance. He looked out the window and immediately dug an elbow into Jaemin, who had taken to his shoulder as a pillow.

“Wha-” Jaemin muttered, flitting awake. His eyes trailed over to where Jeno’s finger was pointing. “Holy shit, how the hell did it find us?” he murmured before all the blood drained from his face. The boy pulled out a rose colored phone from the pocket of his still ugly jacket and slid down the notifications tab as his eyes closed in resignation.

“Yuta, how long until camp?”

“Like three minutes, why?”

“How mad would you be, just hypothetically, if I told you that I forgot to turn on the Monster-Away on my phone, which of course I would never do, and one may or may not be following us, Gods forbid?”

Everyone in the van whipped their heads around and stared out the glass where a gray mass was gaining on them.

“You little son of a-,” Sicheng clapped his hand over Yuta’s mouth before he could finish his sentence. “No insulting the goddess of love,” he warned before reaching back into Jaemin’s lap, grabbing his phone and throwing it out the open window. Jaemin let out a strangled noise, jerking forward in his seat with a horrified expression.

“That was barely a week…” His words died out as he shrank back from the murderous expression on Sicheng’s face. Jeno could see now where the death was in Sicheng’s personality. “You watch out at camp,” the older barked as he bent down in his seat, struggling to unstrap something from his bag.

Jeno watched in horrified fascination as a series of unfortunate events unfolded right before his eyes. The Aeternae charged up to a hairwidth from the van when Sicheng finally wrenched a jar full of green liquid free from safety straps, uncapping it and tossing it out the window behind him in one swift motion. At that exact moment, Yuta jerked the handle to the left to avoid the creature, unaware that his companion had just released what seemed to essentially be napalm on testosterone.

“Yuta, the Greek Fire!” Donghyuck shrieked but it was too late. Jeno watched as the jar brushed up against his side of the car.

The explosion was deafening.

***

There was a ringing in his ears and not much else.

Jeno forced his eyes open and took in the damage. The van was overturned, the top ripped off and the hood smoking. It seemed they had rolled down the side of a hill, and he wasn’t the first to come to. When he spared a look out the broken window Yuta and Renjun were locked in a deadly dance with the monster. The older was on its back, riding the thing like a horse, while the smaller boy seemed to be darting back and forth trying to slash the creature with twin scythes.

Sicheng was struggling in the front seat, a gash running down his temple as he attempted to yank his legs out from the now crushed front of the vehicle. Jeno surveyed the rest of the people in the car. Mark had wiggled over the chairs and was now trying to gently slap Donghyuck awake. Both had blood on their faces but it was too dark for Jeno to figure out where it was coming from.

Jaemin was next to him and turned to face him, eyes wild. “Jeno, I can’t-” They both looked down to find Jaemin’s ankle twisted the wrong direction, and Jeno tried not to gag. “I’ll go get help,” he decided quickly. “No, stay in the car, it’s too dangerous,” Jaemin shook his head frantically, but Jeno was already trying to unbuckle his seatbelt.

“Jeno, do as I say.” Jaemin’s words washed over Jeno like a wave, and he fell back into his seat, gazing at the other’s face. Jaemin was all that mattered. The other’s eyes widened in distraught.

“No, Jeno, never mind, do what you want,” Jeno blinked as the world refocused. He shook his head in confusion, but the cries from outside snapped him into action.

Adrenaline pumped through Jeno’s veins as he ripped the belt away from his body (wear seatbelts kids) and kicked the door open. Yuta’s eyes centered in on him as soon as he climbed out, and the wild look in the man’s eyes changed to horror.

“Get back in th-,” he cut off with a pained yell as the Aeternae’s horn made contact with his ribs and he was thrown to the ground. Renjun gasped as a large paw slammed him to the side, and the redhead hit the asphalt headfirst with a large crack, eyes glassy and unfocused.

The rhinoceros looking creature focused its beady, glowing eyes on the only other target in sight: Jeno. He was really starting to regret offering Renjun that ice bag on the first day. Movement arose behind him and he whipped his head around to watch as Mark half-helped, half-dragged both Sicheng and Donghyuck out of the van, Jaemin following behind them. As soon as the four made it out, the van went up in flames. Mark fell to his knees and pressed his hand to his side, bringing it to his face in horror as it came back a blood red. Meanwhile, Sicheng’s eyes zeroed in on the figures on the ground and he let out an anguished cry in Chinese. Yuta stirred but Renjun remained unmoving and his brother began to run towards them.

In desperation, Jeno decided to make yet another bad decision.

As he flew (quite literally) towards the beast, his first thought was that he really needed to start thinking before he acted. His second thought was that he was way off target. He’d been aiming for the Aeternae’s torso to knock it off balance, but of course he ended up crashing into its snout. The creature let out a roar as it fell backwards while Jeno held for dear life onto its horn. 

_ Whoever you are, dad, you owe me to at least save me this time, _ Jeno willed something, anything to happen as the monster bellowed beneath him. He felt a tugging sensation in his gut and tightened his grasp around its horn as a tremendous bang sounded, electricity coursing through his body. The huge beast let out a rather pathetic croak as it exploded into dust and Jeno crashed to the ground still holding the pointed bone.

His eyebrows fizzled and he could feel his shirt smouldering as rapid footsteps approached. Unfamiliar voices called out and lights flickered towards their general direction. He could vaguely make out Sicheng fretting over Yuta who was sitting up and Renjun who was still on the ground, while Donghyuck stood grimly over Mark. Jeno squinted as a figure headed towards him. Jaemin came into focus, still smiling and still beautiful even with blood matted to his hair and dripping down from a slash above his eyebrow. There was no doubt in Jeno’s mind that Jaemin was Aphrodite’s son.

“I think I know who your dad is now.” He gestured above Jeno’s head. Jeno glanced up, surprised to see a golden lightning bolt shimmering before disappearing with a pop.

Jeno looked down at the horn in his hands then tilted his head back fully to look at the sky. “Yeah, I think I know too,” He managed to grit out before his eyes rolled back in his head and he promptly passed out.

***

Mark drifted in and out of sleep, flitting between dreams and reality, though he could barely tell which was which. Shielding someone from an explosion of green. A young girl laughing as she skated on ice next to him, her hair blowing and cheeks pink from winter air. A silver-haired boy standing over him with a conflicted look on his face. A tall, buff man with stars and clouds for skin. A blurry view of the sun and freezing cold as his eyes drifted shut. A donkey puking crystal balls.

The last vision was just too strange for him to comprehend and his eyes fluttered open. Mark stared up at a white wooden ceiling littered with small flowers. He could hear quiet words being exchanged between two familiar voices.

“...can’t control it. I didn’t mean to, and now-”

“You said you were getting better.”

“I was, but I don’t know what happened. And now I don’t know if-”

The voices cut off abruptly as Mark rolled onto his side with a small groan, noticing a large plaster over the right side of his abdomen, then looking up and locking eyes with Renjun.

“You’re up,” Mark nodded, rubbing his eyes and kicking his blanket off of himself.

As Mark eased himself into a sitting position minding the large plaster on his side, Jeno, who was occupying another bed with a nasty looking black eye and half his eyebrows missing, tossed and turned, coming to. The blonde gave him a slight smile as he blinked, drowsy.

Jaemin winced apologetically. “Sorry, did we wake you?” Jeno waved his hand in the air as if to say no, stifling a yawn.

“Well, you guys were meant to get up soon anyway.” Renjun shot a pointed look at Jaemin who avoided his gaze, walking towards the bedside table and grabbing two small bottles of a golden liquid before tossing one each to Mark and Jeno.

“Drink this, but just a few sips, or else you’ll burn to ashes.”

Mark sincerely hoped Jaemin was kidding, but he didn’t seem to be. He traded uneasy looks with Jeno, who shrugged first and took a swig from his bottle. The blonde’s eyes widened, and Renjun chuckled. “It’ll taste like whatever food or drink you like most.” Mark cautiously took a sip from his, feeling the familiar taste of a jello pudding pop in liquid form slide down his throat. His eyes widened in surprise and he kept chugging before Renjun snatched the bottle away.

“Nope, nope nope nope nope nope nope nope,” The redhead sang nervously. Mark’s face scrunched in horror when he saw that the hair on his forearms were smoking. “I’m no good at this,” Renjun sighed. “Healing is Hyuck’s forte, but he refused-” he stopped himself before he could finish his sentence, but Mark could guess what he was about to say. He tried to mask the twinge of hurt with a shrug, sliding off the bed and noticing the pain in his side had subsided. Jeno’s bruise seemed to be fading right before his eyes as well, and he heard a tinkling laugh from the doorway.

“That’s what nectar does, it heals,” a wide grin split Jaemin’s face as though he’d read Mark’s mind. He could practically see Jeno light up at the sight of Jaemin’s smile and he suppressed a snort of laughter that died away when he saw Renjun look at Jaemin with the same warning in his eye as before. Jaemin caught his eye this time, his smile fading. 

“Come on,” he called, turning on his heel, “Mr. J wants to see you guys.”

***

Mr J implied one man, so Mark couldn’t really see why there were two people standing in front of him. Both men were tall and fit, but while one was scowling the other was smiling widely.

He wondered in the back of his mind if being part gods made everyone attractive, because everyone he’d bet thus far, including the two men standing in front of him, looked like models just off the runway.

“Welcome,” the two men said in unison. “We’re Mr J.”

Mark’s brain immediately switched off. This had officially exceeded his weekly quota of weird.

“To be more precise, I’m Yunho and this is Changmiin, and we’re both Mr. J. What fun futures you two will have,” Yunho smiled, inching towards a terrified Jeno before Changmin pulled him back by the collar. “What interesting pasts you both have had,” the other man mused, leading them towards a sitting area. 

“Sit, or stand, your choice really,” Changmin nodded. Mark and Jeno both plopped down on the couch, and Yunho hummed. “Good choice, Jeno. Mark, well...” he gestured for Mark to lean to the right, and he complied, confused. A millisecond later, an arrow flew through the air and landed with a thwack right where Mark’s head had been. Mark’s brain went into overdrive as his heart began racing at the speed of sound and he threw a glare towards the boy walking up the stairs slowly.

“Oops,” Donghyuck smirked as he sauntered over and plucked the arrow out of the wall, “I missed,”.

It was very clear that he did not miss. Changmin rolled his eyes as Yunho smiled serenely. 

Changmin was the first to talk. “Mark, I hear you don’t remember anything about your past,” Mark had to nod, surprised that the man knew his last name. “Uh, kind of, sir. I have a few visions but everything’s very fuzzy.”

“Mr J, Janus, is the Roman god of choices. He doesn’t really have a Greek equivalent, but his two representations are kind of like the two choices you have? Changmin’s generally the pessimist and he can see the past, while Yunho’s the optimist and can see the future. They’re our camp directors.” Jaemin explained, but his words only added to the chaos in Mark’s mind.

“Huh?” Mark’s brain supplied helpfully, and Donghyuck mimicked the other mockingly under his breath. “Huh?” Renjun pinched his side with a tight smile, and Donghyuck closed his mouth, grimacing.

“Very nice, very nice,” Changmin muttered noncommittally. “My boy, if I may,” He reached out to Mark, and Mark placed his hand in the other’s hesitantly. The director paused for a moment before knitting his brows and turning towards Jeno. Jeno obediently stuck out his hand, and the director frowned again after making contact. “I see,” he mused, sharing a look with Yunho. Mark knew that wasn’t a good sign.

Yunho clapped his hands with a troubled smile. “Well, nothing we can do as of this moment,” he decided for him. For them? Mark was seriously confused.

“Come in, boys!” Yuhnho waved his hand and the door burst open.

Four boys toppled into the room, helping each other up sheepishly. Sicheng immediately rushed towards his brother while Renjun looked down towards the ground as if he was praying for patience. Yuta trailed after Sicheng like a puppy to stand near the wall, sharpening his nails with a pocketknife. The two new faces looked young, younger than both Mark and Jeno.

“Jisung and Chenle, why don’t you show our new campers around?” The tone of voice with which Yunho uttered the words made it clear that he wasn’t asking. The boy with purple hair nodded before smiling in their direction.

“Now, for the rest of you,” Changmin turned towards the rest of the boys. “Jaemin,” the pink haired boy turned slightly green, “what’s the number one rule on recruitment missions?”

“Monster-Away or you won’t see the light of day?” he stuttered out. Yunho turned to Renjun, “And I was informed you were aware of Donghyuck leaving and did nothing to stop him?” Renjun’s expression twisted into betrayal and he wrenched himself away from his brother’s grasp.

“And last but not least, Donghyuck,” Mark was pleased, he had to admit, to see the boy shrinking back under Changmin’s withering gaze. “Leaving without permission for two weeks? What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t.” Mark almost felt a little bad for the silver-haired boy whose lower lip wobbled dangerously. Almost.

“All three of you need time to think, separately. Jaemin, you get kitchen duty for two weeks,” Jaemin nodded, looking less upset as Jeno patted his back sympathetically. “Renjun, stable duty,” Renjun looked slightly more vexed, brushing off Sicheng’s attempts to console him, but nodded all the same.

Jisung and Chenle led Jeno and Mark out quickly as Yunho finished off, “And finally, Donghyuck, you get bathroom duty for the entire month.”

Mark didn’t have to turn around to imagine the horrified expression that stretched over the other’s face as the boy’s whining broke out behind them. He allowed himself a small grin.

***

“The weather’s really nice here,” Jeno observed, looking up at the sky without a trace of clouds, much less snow in the middle of December. The tall, blue haired boy nodded with a smile. “Yeah, the gods make sure that nothing can really enter the bounds of camp, including storms or monsters.” Up ahead of them Chenle seemed to be chatting Mark’s ear off, and Jeno was grateful that Jisung was his tour guide.

“These are the cabins,” Jisung swept his arm around as they walked. There were at least 20 that Jeno could count, all decorated differently. 

The one closest to them was the largest, all white marble and intimidating columns. Jeno pitied whoever had to live in this scary temple of a house.

Of course, with his luck, the next words out of Jisung’s mouth were “This is your cabin, Cabin 1 for Zeus.”

Jeno sighed internally as they entered. The inside was just as menacing, with no furniture except for two beds on either side of the room and a domed ceiling that seemed to contain a stormy sky. As Jeno looked around, a boy walked out of the bathroom and did a double take.

“Whoa, hey, Jisung, what’s up?” An easy smile took over the handsome brunette as he headed over towards them.

“Jaehyun, this is your new brother, Jeno.” Jaehyun’s smile seemed to waver for a split second before smoothing over. “Hello, brother,” he acknowledged. “It’s nice to meet you.” Jeno returned a tight lipped smile. 

As they headed out of the cabin, Jeno’s mood was already going downhill. His only family was a father he didn’t particularly care for and a brother that didn’t seem to particularly care for him. Great.

He forced a grin. “What’s this one?” he pointed at the next cabin. Jisung’s face turned anxious.

“That’s Hera’s cabin. Um… Maybe we shouldn’t go in there,” Jeno understood immediately as a sense of discomfort only worsened his mood. They headed silently towards the third cabin, a longhouse of wood, where a brunette surfer-looking guy popped his head out and waved. “Jeno, right? I’m Johnny.” Jeno’s smile turned a little more genuine, and Jisung’s expression turned to one of relief. After exchanging a few words, they headed on their way.

“Zeus!” Jisung waved over a blonde, puppy-looking guy in front of the fourth cabin as Jeno shot his head up, confused. “Dad?” He muttered out, horrified, a little startled when the two others almost passed out laughing.

“Oh, gods, no. This is Jungwoo, son of Demeter. Zeus is just his nickname.” Jeno allowed himself to smile as the boy gave him a piece of sugarcane to snack on.

Yuta shot them a quick smirk while duelling his buff sisters in front of the Ares cabin, while a boy named Doyoung from the Athena cabin immediately took a liking to Jeno. “Look at his smile!” The grey-eyed blonde gushed. Jeno spotted Donghyuck from afar crouched next to a bunch of harp players in front of a solid gold cabin but the boy looked as if he was deep in thought, looking down at the broken halves of his crystal. Jisung led them away, showing him a silvery house with no occupants before leading him to his own cabin, standing up straighter as a grin spread across his face.

“This is the Hephaestus cabin, and those are my siblings.” Jisung’s chest puffed proudly and Jeno smiled at the uncanny resemblance the younger had to a hamster before masking it with a cough.

“Sungie!” Jisung immediately shrank back into himself as a tall boy with a dimpled smile strided over to them and captured him in a headlock. “This is Namjoon, our cabin counselor.” Jisung’s voice muffled out. Pushing his brother off, Jisung led them into the cabin.

“I’m not really allowed to touch anything in here because I’m super clumsy and I don’t like the heat,” Jisung explained as his siblings backed away with their machinery to give the boy space.

“I thought Hephaestus was the god of blacksmiths?” Jisung shrugged helplessly.

“I guess I didn’t get that part of the genes.”

Namjoon noticed his little brother’s discomfort, piping in. “But our Jisung is super good with technology.” Jisung immediately brightened, and Jeno snorted silently. Cute.

“This camp didn’t even have Wi-Fi when I got here!” Jeno gasped appropriately.

“Thank god you know what Wi-Fi is,” Namjoon sighed, “The other dude that Chenle just brought in had no idea what it was.” Jisung seemed to enter a state of shock.

“Sungie here invented Monster-Away,” Namjoon offered, snapping his brother out of his daze.

“It was nothing,”

“That’s the same thing Jaemin forgot to turn on, right?”

“Yeah, I had to code the entire system because apparently tech sends up a signal to monsters, attracting them like a flare. If you turn the app on, though, it kinda works like a VPN that moves your IP address to Tartarus, monster hell, which keeps them away.” Jeno whistled, impressed.

The next cabin Jisung led them to looked like an explosion of purple glitter and smelled like a mixture of paint and perfume.

“That’s the Aphrodite kids. They just renovated their cabin,” Jisung explained as a particularly good looking guy walked over, smiling gently. “Hi, I’m Taeyong. Jaehyun’s brother, right? Welcome to camp, son of Zeus,” Jeno took his extended hand, hoping he could hide his grimace. Jisung seemed to take notice, frowning, but they were interrupted by another Aphrodite kid’s shout. “Come on over, handsome!” a boy grinned, catlike, and Jeno’s body began to obey without thinking before another voice called out.

“Stop.” Jeno stopped so fast he almost fell over. A hand reached out to steady him.

“Stop flirting or I’m telling Johnny,” the boy with the cat eyes wrinkled his nose and stuck out his tongue, yelling. “Spoilsport.” Jeno turned around to find Jaemin gripping his arm and smiling tightly.

“Hey,” Jeno’s face lit up with a smile, his spirits lifted, and Jaemin blinked before dropping his hand where it had been in contact with Jeno. “Hi.”

Donghyuck, who Jeno had just seen curled up in a depressed ball in front of the Apollo cabin, chose that exact moment to barrel between them.

“Hey, Jeno. Jaemin, Renjun gave me a rundown on the whole... new weapon situation, but I wanted to hear your thoughts?” Jaemin’s eyes darted back and forth but Donghyuck wasn’t taking no as an answer. Jeno shrugged and waved as the two headed off. 

“That’s it, you-” Someone shouted from afar as Jeno crashed into the ground in a tangle of limbs with another camper. The boy cackled uncontrollably while helping him up.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jisung sighed. “This is Yangyang, son of Hermes. He’s the god of travelers but also thieves, which is why this guy is… the way he is.”

The boy puffed up with pride. “I’m the best prankster in this camp,” he explained, but his eyes widened in terror when another boy stomped out of their cabin. “Yangyang Liu, you get back here right now!”

“Gotta go, see ya!” The boy shouted as he zipped away.

“Bye, Kun,” Jisung yelled as the other camper waved a hand of acknowledgement and chased after the other.

The next few cabins passed without any significant events. They chatted with a hyperactive boy named Lucas from the Dionysus cabin, who according to Jisung was a brother of Chenle’s. Jeno wondered if the god was just as talkative as his children. The Hades cabin was next up, but as they were walking up Jeno could hear shouts through the door.

“...huì zěnme xiǎng? You just want him to hate me!”

“Zhè bùshì zhēn de. You can’t control it. You think I don’t know why you were late? Wǒ kànjiàn māole-”

“Māmā sǐ hòu…” Jisung paled and pulled Jeno away.

“Renjun and Sicheng are fighting,” he explained, “And every time this happens it’s like The Walking Dead in real action.”

Jeno gulped and followed Jisung as he power walked away. They somehow made it past the stables, amphitheater and climbing wall before the sun set, all of which Jeno watched with increasing anxiety.

“What happens if you fall from the climbing wall into the lava?” Jisung’s face took on an expression Jeno hadn’t seen before as the tall boy stumbled before righting himself.

“Lava and I don’t mix well so I’ve never done it before, but the harpies are meant to catch you,” Jisung looked extremely unconvinced, so Jeno decided to move on for the younger’s sake.

The cobalt haired boy had regained some of his liveliness by the time they had reached the armory and led him up the stairs into a dusty room. Chenle turned to greet them.

“Mark was just choosing his weapon,” he explained as Mark whirled around with a huge spear, almost stabbing Jisung in the eye. The tall boy backed away faster than humanly possible. “Uh-uh.” Chenle shook his head frantically and snatched the weapon out of Mark’s hands.

Jeno looked around while the others were busy finding a safer alternative for Mark, when he spotted a glint of gold on the corner table and picked up a golden blade.

“What’s this?” He questioned. Jisung’s face paled even faster than when he’d talked about the lava wall.

“That… I mean,” he trailed off, shooting a weary glance at Chenle.

“It suits you,” The purple haired boy started slowly. “Caivs. It’s the twin sword of one that was destroyed a few years back, and the owner of that one was a son of Zeus as well.”

Jeno could feel a but coming up.

“But,” Jeno hated it when his gut feelings were right, “Jason Grace, the guy who used to own the other sword was killed during battle.”

That image should’ve put Jeno off the weapon, but he could feel himself becoming more attached. His brushes with death had already been too close to home, this couldn’t possibly hurt him more. 

Jisung must’ve seen the interest in his eyes. “To be fair, all of these weapons have been used by previous owners that are dead now. You can flip it into a coin and also into a lance,” He offered. Jeno flipped the sword, making sure no one was in the vicinity, and it shrank into a small golden coin. He tucked it into his pocket, satisfied.

Chenle let out a high pitched giggle, breaking the tension. “Well, now we can focus on Mark! How about this one?” He picked up a spiked basketball bat that still had some blood on its metal points, and Mark gagged slightly.

“What are your weapons?” He sighed, looking close to giving up. Jeno watched in interest as Chenle held up his wrist.

“Sungie designed this for me.” Jisung blushed. “If it hears my voice...” Chenle trailed off, bringing it up to his lips. “Vitis.”

The green and purple friendship bracelet thickened and lengthened into a glinting whip that resembled a grapevine.

“Whoa,” Mark gasped, “How did you do that?”

“Voice recognition and a little bit of programming, plus Namjoon’s engineering skills.” Jisung explained. Mark still looked slightly confused, but no one other than Jeno seemed to notice.

Jisung tapped a digital watch on his wrist so it unfolded outwards, typing on the screen. A hologram shot off to the side, and an apple materialized midair. Jeno and Mark could only stare as Chenle caught it and took a bite happily. “This is my weapon of choice,” He smiled. “My dad got it for me as a birthday present, but I do also have a dagger as a backup.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so high tech in my life,” Mark gaped.

“At this rate I’m never going to find a weapon,” Mark flopped down on the ground. The boy’s shifted around in discomfort and reached beneath him to pull out a thin necklace of clear shells.

The four collectively held their breath as he brought his fingers to the largest charm, tugging it. The charm fell easily off of the necklace, expanding into an icy white sword with jagged edges in Mark’s hands. He swung the weapon experimentally, and when Mark touched the hilt back to the chain, the sword shrunk and reattached to the shells.

Chenle shrieked loudly, clapping, and Jisung slapped his hands over his ears with a fond expression. “This is the one.” Mark frowned, seeming to want to say something, but a conch horn sounded in the distance.

“Dinner!” Chenle sang. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come chat w/ me gimme theories inspiration anything
> 
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